Truly a Life Changing Experience

About Me:

- 38 year old male
- 204 pounds pre-surgery
- 315 pounds at biggest (Oct 1, 2018)
- Size 36 pants (down from size 52 being tight)

About Plastic Surgeon:
- Doctor David Berman
- Located in Sterling, VA
- 25+ years experience
- Thousands of SmartLipo procedures
- Hundreds of Tummy Tuck operations
- Reached national fame for re-attaching John Wayne Bobbit's male appendage.

Cliffnotes:
- Worth it? ABSOLUTELY.
- 1 week post-op and despite swelling, even with no further progress I would be happy! It will only get better as the swelling goes away.
- Off pain killers within 36 hours and working from home on the laptop within a couple of days.
- Recovering dramatically faster than I expected from all of my research
- I'm a new man... though now I have to think about if I need to look at butt/thighs.

I have struggled with weight my entire life. No matter what I did, even when I lost weight, I still looked huge. Even after losing weight, because I looked like my pre-op photo, I would put it back on and blow up again.

In October of last year, I decided to go "all in" and make 2019 the year of "me". This meant not just a diet, but instead a complete lifestyle change. I changed what and how I ate along with exercising (mostly walking 3-5 miles) 3-5 days per week.

In June, my weight was down to around 210 pounds, meaning I had lost more than 100 pounds. This time rather than just give up because I still looked disgusting, I started researching treatments to reduce my stomach. I started looking at treatments like UltraSlim and Sculpture, but those only eliminated like 20-25% of the fat. With the keg that I was toting around, this would not have made a dent in what I was trying to do.

Looking at Smart Lipo, there were a ton of things that I liked about the procedure. It was a surgery, but it could be done in the doctor's office with oral sedation, and I could be back to work the next day. However several doctors on RealSelf commented that people that had a great deal of weight loss may not be happy with the results as it could not tighten the skin enough. The answer was a tummy tuck.

I spent a week reading up on the procedure here on RealSelf. Literally hours each day, I would read the normal tummy tuck and male tummy tuck Q&A as well as reviews trying to learn about it. Over that research, I saw several posts by Dr David Berman, a local plastic surgeon in the Washington DC metro area (Sterling, VA). His posts were very informative and intrigued me enough to check out his website. After specifically searching out all of his various posts on different procedures, I saw that he was very down to earth and did a good job of setting realistic expectations. He was not afraid to say when he did not think something would work and would explain if there were alternatives to get to where the person was trying to achieve.

I made an appointment for an initial consult on June 5th. The office was in an area I was already super familiar with, and was easy to find. Once inside, my initial impression was that I was not in a surgeon's office but rather a spa. There was a very clean and comfortable feel to it and the staff were super friendly. They've always addressed me by name and know exactly what's going on. It actually made me feel like a VIP when I walked in.

During the consult, Doctor Berman checked my skin and learned about my background. We discussed my health and weight loss journey. He was very frank with what he could do and what would be expected of me. We talked about if I should wait until I was perfectly at my target body weight or if I should do it earlier. What it came down to was I would be most pleased with the results long term if I was within about 15-20% of where I wanted to be long term.

Normally I would have talked to two or three others and got additional opinions, but based on my research here... I had already come to the same conclusion as his. Given the location, I was actually pretty surprised at the cost. The price was in line with the average cost when I would expect being in an expensive area like Washington DC that it would have been much more than average.

I put down an initial deposit and picked a surgery date a two months out (August 5, 2019). That would give me time to button down and lose the final 10 pounds I needed to be within 20% of my ideal weight along with getting other affairs in order.

During the next two months, I spent hundreds of hours really digging into understanding not only the procedure, but also the recovery and what to expect in the days/weeks/months following the big date. I also got super strict with my eating and exercise. Even though I did not lose the exact 10 pounds I wanted, I managed to get 8 of them off before surgery day.

The day of the procedure, instead of meeting at Doctor Berman's office instead we met directly at a surgery center in McLean, VA. Again the staff there were super nice and explained what to expect as I was taken to pre-op to get changed and get ready. After getting into the robe, the nurse came in to run the IV hookup. I'm not a fan needles whatsoever, but survived the process. It was a few minutes when Dr. Berman came in and started marking me up that it finally started to hit me. I started getting dizzy and had to sit down. While sitting, I actually fainted! The Dr and a couple of nurses managed to get me down onto the floor and I came to very quickly. A minor setback, but I was up pretty quickly and was able to walk to the elevator and into the surgery room itself on my own.

I made small talk for a few minutes with the staff as I was positioned on the table and my IV was hooked up. It did not last long however and I was out in just a minute or so.

I don't remember much immediately following the operation. I remember meeting my family who was waiting for me and getting into the car. I don't remember the trip home, but I remember getting up the stairs with some minor pain and helped into bed. I also remember being woken up every few hours for medication. Literally every 4 hours like clockwork, I had to pee like a race horse. That was a little interesting as Dr Berman used drains. He NORMALLY does not use them, but because of the size of keg, he felt it was the safest way to prevent fluid buildup.

The recovery was not nearly as bad as I was thinking it could be. I had read stories about how people were miserable for weeks and unable to do anything. I'll be honest... I stopped ALL pain medication by day two. The only thing I was (and am still taking until tomorrow) is the daily shot to reduce the likelihood of clots. Dr. Berman texted me each morning and evening checking up on me and answered any questions that came up. I can't tell you how comforting that was to have the doctor spending so much time checking in and answering those little questions that you never think of until you're faced with a scenario!

Getting up/down from a chair was a major production, but manageable. I was doing it by myself without assistance. I could not however get from my back to a sitting position to get out of bed for nearly a week. In order to be more self-sufficient, I slept on the couch so that I would not have to worry about being helped up each time I needed to relieve myself.

Day 2... stayed in bed, but up every few hours walking around just the upstairs. I had not figured out to use the downstairs couch until day 3, so I had to be helped to move myself into a sitting position to get out of bed. I could get myself into the bed, but not out of it. That evening, I went with the family to get frozen yogurt. Walking was still a struggle, but I managed. The car was the hardest/slowest part, but I found a way to make it work without extra undue pain. It was while walking back from the car into the house that I ended up crop dusting my mother who was helping me. It was LOUD and it was FOUL. My father made a comment that had me almost fall over from laughing which was not good! I was trying not to laugh, but I could not help it. We were all howling, mine was mixed with pain!

Day 3... every few hours I would get up and walk around the living room and kitchen before returning to the big overstuffed chair. Since I was not on pain killers and I found myself getting very bored, I actually started checking my work email from my cell phone and minor work related things I could do with just the phone. Getting up/down was still a pretty big ordeal, but I managed!

Day 4... I could get up/down from a sitting position MUCH easier. I was also walking mostly upright and straight. The swelling started getting less pronounced. First bowel movement! I actually started taking stool softeners on day 3, but it did not finally give in until the 4th day. I felt like a 3 year old immediately afterwards.... oh so proud of what I did! (And I could not wait to tell my mother too, just like the little kid.). My drains by this point were doing next to nothing. When I had my text exchange with Dr Berman, he mentioned he planned to remove those drains when he saw me for my first in-office post op.

Day 5... most of the major discomfort in the upper stomach where the muscle was tightened was gone. There is a single spot I noticed once I moved around a lot, but entirely manageable. I actually went for a drive to get out of the house and got a manicure along with having my hair washed. (The doctor allowed me to shower the day after surgery, but having the compression garment off for more than 15 minutes was not comfortable!) Even though I could take a shower, it would hurt to try and put my hands above my head, so I skipped washing my hair. Instead I went to where I got my hair cut and had them wash it for me while laying back in the chair. MUCH more comfortable!

Day 6... each day is getting progressively easier. I could go up/down stairs normally. It was not nearly as difficult to get up/down from chairs, and I managed to put on something other than lounge pants or exercise shorts. Since I was feeling so much better, I did something I know most doctors don't suggest and weighed myself. I knew I was still bloating, had my drains in, had my compression garment on, etc... but I had to do it. I was at 200.15 pounds!

Day 7... first post op appointment. Drains are gone! I remember reading how some folks said was a "creepy crawly" feeling. Doc and I were talking and before I realized it, the first drain was gone and he had started on the second. I honestly did not feel anything! I can get up/down from chairs ALMOST at normal now. I can't quite flop into a chair, but I can very easily get up/down now. I can also walk around for longer periods of time before I start to feel the stomach getting tight and the swelling to go crazy. I also was able to get in/out of my bed upstairs on my own without any pain. So tonight will be the first night back upstairs!

Final Thoughts
- I can't say thank you enough to Dr Berman and his team. Each and every one of them made me feel like I was the most important person in the world in each and every one of my interactions with them. I'm not a celebrity, but I was certainly treated like one.
- Swell hell is REAL! Dr Berman did not sugar coat it and I was fully expecting it, but you will swell and you will feel like you're as big as a house. You will also feel like you will never be able to walk straight again. It will get better! For me, I was walking upright by day 3. At the end of the day, it's harder to remain straight, but the family is good about encouraging me to straighten up.
- Coughing or sneezing... I would not wish that on my worst enemy. That could be a HUGE tactic the CIA should consider for any sort of torture tactic to get someone to talk. It's even worse when you feel it coming and try everything in your power to stop it but can't. I swore I would have the other half of me laying on the floor next to me and that I would be split in two pieces.

Wow... I'm back at like 90% of "normal"!
I started scar treatment 10 days after surgery. I'm walking normally, getting up/down, and getting around pretty easily. I'm even able to sleep on my side again!
Doctor Berman has cleared me for light exercise. I went for a walk around Potomac Mills Mall, and without really realizing it, I walked around 4 miles before I started getting tired.
It no longer hurts as much to cough. It's uncomfortable, but it's no longer the overbearing completely miserable, slap your mother pain.
I've started scar treatment... portions of it are started to flatten down, but others not so much yet. Given I'm only a little into the second week, I'm not at all worried about it.
Swelling... by the end of the day, I absolutely see some swelling, but not really painful. By morning it's back to normal.